This Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup recipe is comfort food defined. A crazy good mashup of a chicken noodle and a minestrone soup come together for a perfect one pot meal.
Soup is a go-to comfort dish. Warmth, easy scents that can send me down memory lane and general ease of preparation make soup like a warm hug. The thought of leaning over steaming hot liquid, wrapping my cold hands around the piping hot bowl, and inhaling the fragrant scents that seem to be welcomed breath have me craving soup regularly, almost regardless of season.
This Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup recipe is a one pot meal that is ready to compensate for those colder, shorter days we’re experiencing. A steaming fragrant bowl of wholesome food that everyone eagerly dives into when walking into the house after a long day.
The anticipation of eating is a wonderful experience. These days I’m making our dinners multiple hours in advance of suppertime and I often find myself literally wanting to dive in head first into these dishes. The house smells amazing.
The kids want to know exactly what it is that I’m taking photos of (usually when I take photos it means the food is extra good, or as one of my twins says “this supper is extra yummy to me mommy”). And I can’t wait to see if all the recipe testing, planning, and effort has paid off.
This recipe inspired by a Donna Hay‘s Roasted Spatchcock Minestrone. I took a bunch of liberty with adding more vegetables and using more commonly found ingredients in my freezer (like chicken thighs vs a whole chicken).
This “soup” is more like a stew. It’s hearty and satisfying, basically ready to cure all with its chicken noodle x minestrone mashup.
What to serve with a Minestrone Soup Recipe?
I like a light salad, something like this 5-ingredient Salad, and some fresh bread or buns for dunking and soaking up all that delicious broth.
You don’t really need either of those 2 things. There’s a bucket load of vegetables in the soup, as well as pasta so the salad and bread are truly mere suggestions coming from my family’s preferences.
I haven’t frozen this dish myself, but the leftovers take us through lunch the next day which I love.
Other switches up that I would over out as options include shredding the chicken once it’s cooked and placing it back into the soup (discard the skin and the bones).
Use any type of short dried pasta that you have. Macaroni, a small tube, or even orzo will all work well here.
Navy beans are suggested for the beans, however any you enjoy will work.
This Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup recipe is comfort food defined with luscious broth, hearty chicken and beans, pasta, and loads of veggies.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 medium chicken thighs, skin on / bone in
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 stalks (ribs) celery
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 dried or fresh bay leaves
- 6 sprigs oregano (sub w/ 1 tbsp dried)
- 12 medium fresh basil leaves (sub w/ 2 tbsp dried)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 5 cups water
- 14 oz can navy beans
- 1 cup small tubed pasta
- 1/4 cup Finely grated parmesan to serve (optional)
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Preheat oven to 400° F.
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Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven or large casserole dish (any dish that is large and ovenproof).
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Sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place chicken skin side down and cook until well browned, approximately 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside . This may need to be done in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your pan.
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Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, or until starting to soften. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring the entire time, until paste is coating vegetables. Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, beans and pasta. Bring to a boil and return chicken to pot, skin-side up and place in oven*.
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Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
* If you'd prefer the soup can be returned to a simmer with a lid on for 20-30 minutes instead of using the oven.
More comforting soups from my fellow Canadian Food Bloggers:
- Broccoli and Cheddar Soup by Food Mamma
- Roasted Chicken Minestrone Soup by My Kitchen Love
- Lighter Potato Leek Soup by Fuchsia Freezer
- Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup by 365 Days of Easy Recipes
- Cream of Spinach Soup by I Say Nomato
- Miso Noodle Soup by The Refreshanista
- Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Polenta Croutons by Flavour and Savour
- Creamy Carrot Orange Soup with Cashews by Making Healthy Choices
- Roasted Butternut Squash Ginger Pear Soup by She Loves Biscotti
Enjoy! xo